


Balloon Trial

by AlexNow



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Death Note
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-26
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-20 22:26:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1527896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexNow/pseuds/AlexNow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <span class="small">L accepts the help of Soichiro Yagami's son to find who's behind the murders.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>-ON HIATUS-</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Death Note story.  
> Please read and I hope you enjoy.  
> Either way, the idea for this story was not mine at all, but a prompt given by a friend of mine named Quinn. If there's anyone to thank, it's her. Technically, this whole thing was written for her.  
> -Alex

The room is dull, no sign of life anywhere. The darkness of it makes it impossible to live in without tripping over something, and the only source of light is a single laptop in the middle of the room. In front of it, barely visible and outlined, is the figure of a man crouched down in front of it, biting on his thumb and staring at his computer (white screen with a single Win the middle in calligraphic writing) with expectant eyes.

_"We don't know what we're risking out lives for!"_

_"You can't expect the killer to show himself and turn himself in after everything it's done until now!"_

_"It opened the stomach of a kid while he was still alive, what we're dealing with can't **possibly** be human!”_

Around Matsuda, everyone is yelling. He should be anything but surprised, honestly, considering that being new and having to choose this particular position as a job, arguments is what he should have expected. He can't help but stare at everyone yelling around him with wide eyes, though, and he patiently sets his hands on his lap.

Beside him, as he turns his head undecidedly, he sees the Chief shaking his head with his temples gripped tightly between his index finger and thumb. He genuinely seems strained with each case that comes and goes. Feeling comforted after each case is closed has been a sensation that has long left and hasn’t been experienced in a long time, bearing in mind the fact that it is only a matter of hours (days, if he is lucky) in which a new one is opened; and once again Chief Yagami is forced to dig deep between the lines that have been formed.

Though the former one may or may not be as complicated as the next, Matsuda knows that the Chief is still forced to undergo the stress of concluding it before time; and if not, it is simply knowing that it is his decision whether he wants to delay it and threat the life of one more citizen, or not. Nonetheless if they are sure whether there will be one more harmed or not. For the Chief there is never a certainty that one may not end up dead. Even his wife, who had spoken to Matsuda a few days ago –being an acquaintance of her husband-, confirmed her worry over him; not getting enough sleep, often not arriving home.  They are all signs. There isn’t anything Matsuda could utter that will change Chief’s mind over working so greatly, but, also, he can’t say he hasn’t tried.

“Are you alright, Chief?” He asks, turning his neck closer to the older man’s defiant structure so he could hear him over the political debate and yelling. The man murmurs something in response in what Matsuda can only guess is an affirmative, though the response is in opposition to his expression.

Matsuda, though not the brightest man they could have had around, understands that now is not the moment to scowl at someone twice his age for upsetting his wife and leans back to his chair, noticing if not a bit apprehensive at how his full cup of water in front of him trembles at the resonance of irritated tones produced by the microphones which only amplify the voices of angry men.

_“You don’t under **stand** the gravity of the situation! This is obviously something **far** off our league!”_

_“If you suppose it is so far off what we’ve seen before than you have no logic is your reasoning! Japan has managed to survive under much more inattentive circumstances!”_

_“Are you stating we’ve done nothing to help our nation?!”_

_“I am stating we could do much more by planting our attention to more significant conditions lacking awareness!”_

_“We haven’t confirmed that this isn’t vital!”_

_“Which is why we need more help on making sure we do correct to do so!”_

_“If that is what we must do than we have no other option but to call for someone of importance like the assistance of L!”_

The vigorous dialogues around the large auditorium slowly recede until it is so silent that Matsuda is sure that a fallen paperclip from across the room has managed to reach his ears. He watches as the people around him exchange unsure glances and he sees the Chief beside him sudden straighten his back and refuse to look at everyone in the eye, instead focusing his eyes on the Superintendent which mutters something in the other’s ear, in the front of the room, which his microphone situated close to his mouth, but not focused enough to have everyone hear what he says in reply.

Matsuda is glad that he is not lost in what has made every person silence in alarm, since Chief Yagami had mentioned this _L_ the day before, voicing out his own concerns into the younger man’s ears.

_“Not everyone is convinced that what is happening is murder, despite the signs and the clear marks of violence and struggle,” He had said with a sigh, his eyes have gotten involved in his coffee once again, seeming even more tired behind his glasses, “And they think that it is all in control.”_

_“What do **you** think, Chief?” Matsuda has questioned, with his own naïve eyes far too involved in what really doesn’t engage him as much as it seems. The Chief had failed to entail his interest in this and continued._

_“We don’t have much hope without any professional help, especially if they are ineffective at coming to one whole conclusion.”_

_“Are you stating that you want help from other countries, Chief? I mean, I guess it’s logical, so I don’t judge you since these murders are not only happening here in Japan but—”_

_“I am stating we need help from someone more qualified in unpredictable cases similar to this one like L.”_

_There was a long silence as Matsuda’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he asked tentatively, “Who is L, Chief?”_

_Chief Yagami sighed slightly in relief at not having have told this at someone who knew about L and his attitude, since the last thing he wanted was to be frowned at for his suggestion._

_“Right, you’re new.” He says, “We don’t know who L is or his real name, seeing as he always communicates with his, say, **clients** through a computer and so no one knows what he looks like. His reputation has made him trusting, though. He is world’s best detective, surpassing even Coil and has never failed to solve a case.”_

_Matsuda’s wide eyes turn even broader at the words and his quickly grabs the back of the chair in front on Chief’s desk and sits down, leaning slightly on his desk as he sits across the Chief._

_“Then why haven’t you called him, Chief?” Matsuda’s zealous voice makes Chief Yagami sigh, “If he’s so good he could help us! Come on, Chief!”_

_There’s a loud screech as Matsuda’s jumps to his feet, making the chair set back and he halts his movement as the Chief shouts for him to stop, Matsuda’s hand hovering over the wired telephone and his surprised expression focused on the Chief._

_“Sit down, Touta!” Matsuda does that immediately, hearing his last name, and waits as his Chief to continue, “It is not possible to contact L, since he prefers to keep his confidentiality and even if we managed to contact him about this specific case, he is rather conceited and doesn’t take cases he is not interested in.”_

_“Oh,” Matsuda stretches out, “ **That’s** why the rest wouldn’t be contented in asking L’s help. They don’t want to look desperate at asking for help of someone they’ve never seen before and don’t want to look hopeless if they get rejected.”_

_Chief Yagami grunts in affirmative and Matsuda asks whether he had ever worked alongside L, or if the Japanese police ever have. When the Chief shakes his head and states that they had never asked for L’s help, Matsuda visibly deflates._

_“We have only heard of the existence of L from other countries which had worked with him in the past, which is why we know he is very clever in solving these, though he prefers to stay in the shadows. He had stated before to these assumed countries that he prefers to be out of the public eye, and for his existence to be unknown. We don’t know how many cases he has solved that the countries’ police had taken credit for, but we do know that there is no possible way that he will ever show his face to anyone.”_

Now, though, the Chief seems neutral at the mention of L’s name and listens attentively of those around him, waiting for the options they would be given whether they would agree to ask for help of L. Matsuda does the same and, if he is allowed to admit it, is rather excited to have things come to such thrilling consequences. Not that he is enjoying the fatality of children around the world, of course, but when he entered the task force he had just hoped for this to happen. If only people would take him more seriously and _actually_ make him part of an investigation.

“Quiet down, everyone!” They are finally told after a while of everyone murmuring again, “If we decide to include L in this, there is no way to contact him to ask about his opinion on this whole situation.”

The day is called to an end and Matsuda gradually gets up from his seat, once standing up watches as Chief Yagami copes just barely to stand up also. The fretfulness of the job has managed to cause him damage in his health. The older man moves to walk farther up the stairs and exit the room, ignoring Matsuda completely and the brisk younger man swiftly runs after him, receiving bothered glances from everyone around him which he pays no mind to.

“Chief!” He shouts, his arm high in the air as he waits for the Chief to look over his shoulder and wait for him, which doesn’t necessarily happen as the man keeps walking. Once he catches up, his voice wearied out from running he asks, “And if you can’t contact L then why don’t you get another detective? Like Coil, maybe. Wouldn’t it be easier, even if he isn’t the best like L?”

He hears the man sigh as he enters his office and closes the door after Matsuda, heading to his desk and sitting down. He refuses to look up as he grabs the folder of information he had been given earlier.

“We can’t contact Coil or even Deneuve. It’s even more difficult, even, since no one has heard of them in years. It has been said that they are resting from their job. The only hope we have is L.”

“And we have no way of contacting L and knowing whether he’d take the case?” Matsuda inquires, and once the Chief shakes his head, he sighs begrudgingly and throws himself somewhat gracelessly to the Chief’s chair with a loud moan.

_“Do we have any information about the new case, Watari?”_

Watari walks through the halls of the airport, his coat held high along with his hat, covering most of his face but not enough to alarm the airport of him being any type of terrorist. He hauls his luggage out the doors and into where family members and friends are, at seeing people begin to exit expecting their loved one.

He walks past them and gracefully walks towards the exit, willing to face the cold air of the night, though he is not startled considering that the cold weather is actually quite warm comparing it to London. When he is near the luxurious car that had been waiting for him, he carefully opens the back and deposits his small luggage down, knowing that the rest of the things he will be needing will be sent to him in a matter of hours.

When he is safely seated in the front driver’s seat of the vehicle he opens the laptop he was cautious to keep and immediately begins tapping on the keys, opening the files necessary after typing the passwords required and begins to transfer them to his colleague.

“I have managed to locate the exact settings of the most recent murders and also photographs taken of the children’s bodies, and though there are no indications of signature slaughter, they are mostly murdered the identically.”

The small noise emitted from the thin computer gadget indicates that the photos with the information have been safely sent and as L receives them there is a long silence. Watari attaches his phone to the laptop and relocates the call to it before closing his cell phone and turning the car on. In the dark the calligraphic _L_ on the blindly white screen produces too much light against his eyes as it rests beside him, on the space between the driver’s and passenger’s seat.

_“Are you nearing the hotel, Watari?”_

Watari stares at the full dark street in front of him, even at hours like these, and as he turns over a corner he responds, “Yes. However, I am not quite close to it yet.”

_“Tomorrow please communicate me with the National Police Agency and make sure to have the person in charge of the case there as well.”_

“Yes, of course, Ryuuzaki.”

 

 

The next day the most part of the NPA are called down to an additional conference, and Yagami can only presume that it’s not entirely about arguing further about the investigation which had prolonged for much longer than the hardest case they’ve gotten in years. He is not exactly _keen_ to be there to hear the quarreling between opinions and right now added stress is the final thing he needs.

As everyone calms down, Matsuda quietly slips into his seat beside him and greets him with a, “Hello, Chief!” and once again they are forced to stay silent before being informed by the head of the NPA that the motive of why they are all here will be revealed, since the topic will be the same as the last time but the concept is different. In other words, they are not there for the same reason.

They all stay silent for a moment in unvoiced confusion before they begin to murmur between themselves, trying to find out about the cause they are being neglected to be told of why they were to gather once more. This has not happened once before.

Then still and firm footsteps echo through the room, louder than all the voices and each one’s head’s leisurely turns to face definitely the frontage of the area, where a cloaked figure with a hat stands, in front on the microphone which the Head had been on, but (out of cowardice, Chief Yagami presumes) he had abandoned to stand in a lonely seat at the back.

“Greetings, gentlemen,” The figure says, his voice deep and wavering with formality and age. Matsuda’s open eyes burn with the need to blink as he stares; fazed, at the outline of the man hidden behind what seems to be pounds of clothing. Beside the young man, Chief Yagami’s jaw seems to have opened wide in shock as he freezes with his eyes on the man in front of the room.

“I apologize for asking for your attention so abruptly like this and disturbing you from your daily tasks, but I can assure you that by all means, this can be clarified as something of importance,” He continues to say, “And I anticipate that I enclose your full attention and consideration.”

Matsuda blinks, coming out of his daze and turns to his right, pausing when he sees the state the Chief is in, his mouth still wide open and his eyes agape. Seeming to know exactly what’s going on, Matsuda slightly leans over to him.

“Who’s he, Chief?” He asks. Chief Yagami snaps his mouth closed but his eyes stay wide open as he blinks a couple more times and turns to Matsuda. He finally takes a wide breath and glances once more at the figure as he turns back to the younger police and mutters; just barely enough to have Matsuda hear him.

“If what I’ve been told is correct, Touta, the person in front of us is Watari, the only person who has ever communicated directly with L.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is finally here, and though I am not completely happy with how it turned out, I find it alright. Enjoy.  
> -Alex

As Watari simply explains that he is here for reasons involving the investigation he unhurriedly shifts from his stance to grab hold of the handbag he had slung over his shoulder and he opens it. Matsuda notices how each person in the NPA multitude tenses and expect him to draw a handgun to slaughter them all; maybe they wonder whether he works for the killer.

They noticeably settle down when they stare as he withdraws a thin laptop, and the Chief cannot help but become aware of how Watari is very cautious in not slipping and fortuitously showing his face.

He still cannot believe, though, that their silent pleas for help, and the need of being reassured that what they are doing must be the right thing to do, have been heard. From wherever L may be, he had sensed the opening of a new interesting case and though it is obvious he has not decided to take the case because of the need to assist, but the necessity of doing his job, the Chief is glad. No one else seems to understand exactly what is happening, few do and the Chief can distinguish them between glancing at their surprised expressions, lacking fear.

Also, though the police task force will never admit it, they needed the help and support from someone known for his or her experience. They state they only want a general opinion, but he knows they won’t be comforted with just a reply saying that they are indeed murders. After all this time the great detective is finally taking them in notice to help with the worldwide case every country is struggling to cover and though many people in the NPA may not be very grateful of this, Chief Yagami feels as if conclusion is finally coming through.

As Watari opens the laptop, he unlocks a folder and moves the monitor to face the unrestricted, a quite nervous man offering him a cable which Watari (giving him a thank you which the man accepts with wide eyes) uses to attach the laptop to the broad and awfully immense screen behind him, giving the entire auditorium a very lucid view of what emerges.

The silence in the room is deafening, and Watari’s figure stays with the computer chip. The Chief sees that Watari did not turn the screen for them to be certain that it isn’t prerecorded, but because the operator behind the other side wants to observe them. Chief Yagami can scarcely see the small speck of what is the camera. He can see them but they can’t see him. He holds back a slight tremor of discomfort.

The large screen behind Watari flashes before lightening up and the white screen blinds them for a couple moments before their eyes dilate and they are able to notice the quite obvious and large ‘ _L_ ’ in the middle. Watari steps back and so it seems he won’t be the one to do the rest of the talking.

 _“Greetings to all of you of the NPA,”_ A new voice says, hidden behind the laptop and the safety of a voice adjuster that hides his true identity, _“I am L.”_

Though Matsuda has already known what this was about thanks to his Chief, he still shares a look of utter surprise towards the screen along with a couple others, and beside him the Chief starts to look genuinely interested in what is happening. Though L does not pause to have them take it all in and he immediately continues, seeming unconcerned of their reactions.

 _“I’m sure many of you have already inferred of why I have decided to speak to you, especially in this particular way,”_ He says, and Matsuda’s eyes bore into the panel in chaste uneasiness of having an unidentified voice contact them, _“But for those which are too caught to comprehend, I am here to have a clear discussion about the Kira Case.”_

“Kira Case, Chief?” Matsuda asks in a low voice. Chief Yagami takes a long while to process Touta’s words, since he seems to have his mind wrapping around the topic of, not the Kira case, but L. When he does, though, he grimaces and responds.

“It’s what they have called the killer, Touta. The public seem to think that labeling the criminal and stopping to worship him will counterbalance his destructive actions against them and they have a larger probability of being secure. Kira has invaded the internet, and it’s all that the world is talking about.”

_“Watari, would you mind passing the Kira folder?”_

The loud voice coming out of the speakers forces them to remember, with rapid beating hearts, the situation they are being held in and they watch as Watari takes a thin folder out of the same handbag. His footsteps echo through the soundless auditorium as he passes it to the hands of the Director. As the Director cautiously opens it he skims through and the Chief can see from the distance the way his eyes evidently enlarge at its contents at Watari’s retreating back.

When Watari finally stands behind the laptop once more L says, _“Those are the images and names along with personal information of each one of the children which have been openly murdered by Kira from different divisions of the world, which you have not been able to obtain. Seeing as I have already gotten a lead in many details about the case, I’d still like to ask for your assistance in receiving further information which I may not be aware of. I suppose the killer may be soon having its next victim in the Kanto region of Japan. Therefore I will be settling my investigation quarters near to acquire a closer look at the situation and coordinates of said homicides and I hope you will all do your most excellent job to support on the judgment of finding the killer and that I have your understanding?“_

He ends in question, and the Chief cannot help but notice that he means to do it, not in uncertainty, but in challenge. As if testing the people in the NPA and expecting them speak up and disagree with him. No one does, of course, and he understand that it is for the same reason that L has said far too many essential specifics in one discussion for them to be able to process.

“Why the Kanto region of Japan?” Chief Yagami says as he stands up, and Matsuda widens his eyes as he sees the older man beside him draw attention to himself. It makes him even more uneasy when the Chief continues and says, “How are we sure you really _are_ L and you aren’t Kira himself?”

Murmurs begin to fill the rest of the silence of the room, most of affirmative to what the Chief said and the older man stays standing, ignoring the way his hands slightly shake at the feeling of Watari staring at him and how, if this _L_ really is Kira, he’ll surely end up dead, or most likely one of his children. Chief Yagami has just put his two children in danger.

_“Well, I suppose… you **don’t** know. In any other case, you’ll just have to trust the unspecified face behind an inanimate object. I’m sure you’ll find it endearing over time.”_

Chief Yagami blinks, and no one in the room says anything for a while. It’s all as if they’ve been expecting something else. Possibly death, since it’s all that the NPA has experienced. It’s entirely what their job and life is. Death. And seeing it not come around when they most expect it has truly caught them off guard. L, though, continues as if the confrontation never happened and Chief Yagami supposes it is due to how often he gets them.

Does that mean that in the end L (if it _is_ stated that it is in fact L) eventually is rewarded with their trust? If so, is that a sign that Chief Yagami must learn to trust him, or that he should revolt from the idea of unquestioning this anonymous person’s ways?

As the Chief sits back, he down rubs his temples and lets out a groan of frustration at the over thinking every possible thing that comes across his life. From something as simple as deciding what to eat for lunch to matters of life or death of innocent people in his country that require his help. Despite the fact that Chief Yagami hates to confess such sentiments, he occasionally feels resentment towards his oldest child’s ways. Regardless of the guilt by feeling this towards his son, Chief Yagami cannot deny the fact that he constantly finds himself comparing his actions to ones the other would do. Analytical by nature, unlike his son Chief Yagami is not. This is why he cannot control the stress that comes and the burning of his head as he tries to find sense in his thoughts. He has tried too much.

_“So, do I have your understanding or must I send to myself to you so I can balance on a performance ball in order for you to agree and trust me?”_

Even through the laptop and the voice changing Chief Yagami can sense the sarcasm lacing L’s tone of voice, and he can’t help but raise his head from his position of stress to stare at the screen in disbelief. At the lack of response from the public, he says, _“Alright then. Now, if we would proceed.”_

 _“Mr. Yagami, you asked me why I have concluded that the next homicide would occur in the Kanto region of Japan,”_ The voice shows that he is striving to change the direction of the meeting, and Chief Yagami straightens in surprise as he hears his surname come from the stranger’s end of the line, _“I have settled on this particular assessment due to previous evidence attained from the victims’ information which had not been classified as Kira’s victims. Its dates between noticeable children’s deaths show the pattern between Kira’s executions.”_

“How are you sure these other murders of children are also the work of Kira?” Someone else speaks, and Chief Yagami is relieved to know that after his confrontation he no longer is the only one daring to stand up and address.

_“The markings between each death are far too exact to be a coincidence.”_

“How sure are you?” A woman speaks, her voice firm and demanding though many can notice that it is all a demeanor which covers the way she feels uneasy about facing a man which _could_ kill them all if he decided to; if he were lying.

_“Well, in this moment I’d say about two percent.”_

There are mutters of disapproval and condemnation, but L doesn’t respond to this, though he indubitably hears the quiet _‘This person can’t possibly be L, he is too much of an idiot’_ and _‘surely he isn’t talking seriously’_ which are too hushed for the monitors of the laptop to hear _._

This doesn’t bring any result from L and his actions. In fact, L doesn’t appear to be concerned judging by his deficient in trying to defend himself of what they assume of him; and that is how Chief Yagami realizes that he is sure the man they are talking to is indeed L.

It seems that Soichiro Yagami _has_ in fact learned something from his young son.

 _“Now, if I am allowed to ask,”_ L’s voice is dreary and lacking emotion but Chief Yagami knows the silent sarcasm is still present, _“May I offer my services in order to uncover this case with my all well-known knowledge?”_

The stillness is raucous, and no one responds for only a short instant until Chief Yagami stands up and says, once he’s sure that from the camera L is staring at him. Being the head of the investigation he finds it his place to declare his decision that he is sure will bring good more than bad.

“Yes, of course. Welcome to the team, L.” He says sincerely with a nod of assent and good nature.

 _“Oh **lovely,** ” _L responds in a flat tone, _“Shall I be expecting a welcoming party?”_

 

 

At dinner time, Sachiko is astounded at seeing her husband settled down at the head of the table, already eating and seeming to be much more animated than he has been for the last few years. To his left, Sayu is gazing at him with wide eyes and her arm frozen halfway to her mouth with her spoon in hand, dripping soup into the table. To his right, Light is simply not moving to eat, just staring at him with his hands in his lap.

Soichiro doesn’t perceive anything out of the standard and he maintains his intake. He doesn’t appear to be accurately _happy_ in any way, but simply at least making an effortto do anything but work. Sachiko would be mendacious if she alleges she isn’t thankful.

“Dad?” Light at last says, his hands carefully moving closer to his father as he sets one hand on the older man’s shoulders, “Not that I’m not glad that you seem to be better but… is there something wrong? Or, something different, I mean?”

Soichiro stops eating and settles his spoon against the edge of his bowl before sighing and giving his son an exhausted smile as Light takes his arm back. Soichiro replies by patting the eldest of his children on the arm.

“Please don’t worry. I guess I’m just relieved that the reason I’ve been so busy the last few weeks is going to settle down now that we have new resources.”

“Relieved? Why? What happened?” It is Sachiko who speaks this time, and her alarmed eyes bore into him as she sets a plate of food in front of the place she had planned to sit at. Soichiro shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, but you know I can’t reveal anything of what my work has consisted on.” He replicates, after countless times his wife had asked to be informed of what he has been solicited to do.

“ _Oh._ Is it like a secret mission from the anime I watch, dad?” Sayu decides to add her input, and her grin causes Soichiro to chuckle, finding amusing the contribution Sayu found necessary to add. Sachiko prolongs the topic, though, and her unease is palpable as she pressures the matter.

“What about Light, Soichiro? Surely since he’s going to be working with you in the future at the police agency you could tell _him,_ right?” Her tone of voice sounds desperate, and Soichiro sighs as he stands up from the table and walks over to the eldest woman in the room in attempt to calm her down.

“Please do not worry, but I cannot tell even Light of what I’ve been recently working on. He is still considered a junior, Sachiko, no matter how high his intellectual rank is.”

“But he—”

“No, it’s fine,” Light says suddenly, and he’s starting to eat slowly, seeming to study each element of his food before processing it, “It’s only reasonable that he doesn’t tell me anything, mom. After all, I still have to finish my studies before I think about joining yet.”

Sachiko seems to finally give up, and she lets out a long sigh, Sayu saying, “Yeah, don’t worry, mom! I’m sure that dad will be alright for now, and once Light enters the agency they’ll surely be great!”

“Anyway, I’m going up to my room to study. Please don’t interrupt me and don’t expect me to come back down,” Light says as he sets his plate to wash, and as he gradually begins to clean it and then rinsing it, he continues, “I’ll probably go directly to sleep once I finish.”

With these last words of goodnight he starts up the stairs and his family of three is left to stare at his descending back until they hear his bedroom door closing. Sayu jumps back up and she leaves hurriedly her dishes in the wash, grinning and yelling something about missing the next episode of the new anime she has grown fond of before sprinting up the wooden stairs as well. As Sachiko and Soichiro grasp that they are the only ones left on the table, Soichiro’s lips twist into a grimace. He feels poignant at the proceedings, and he only feels worse when he sees Sachiko’s stare pointedly on him. He knows what it means.

_You brought this upon yourself._

 

 

The sound of aluminum wrappings are the only thing impeding the room from being dangerously soundless and eventless; a quiet stillness which manages to seem too eerie for any moving creature, too uncanny for anything to want to become closer to the precautious person in the room.

The room is large, filled with a large bed, furniture such as couches, electronic devices and, what the man considers to be the most important, the refrigerator.

Despite the room having many windows and sources of light, the user of the space had asked to have the curtains drawn and the lights off. Though, of course, the laptop is perched on the coffee table and with the faint glint of the screen you could just barely identify the outline of a body perched on the couch. His legs are up against his chest and the white light from the device manages to light up a pair of hands. One is holding a thin porcelain plate with a large piece of pie on it, and the other is twisting the candy around, his teeth holding the foil so it could easily slip off. Once he manages this, he pops it into his mouth.

“Has the NPA tried to communicate with you over newfound discoveries on the Kira case?” He mumbles around the food, his voice understandable only to the person on the other side of the line.

_“They have told me some information which they made certain to know I would tell you, stating that they have found the relations between most of the children murdered and the Yotsuba Enterprise. It seems most of the children were children or family members of the head of the company, though I am quite sure you had already deduced this.”_

L hums and narrows his eyes on the pie, perched on his plate and half lightened with dim light. He carefully keeps his free hand above the plate and then slowly lowers his hand to the strawberry, decorating the said pie, says, “Yes.”

As he plops it into his mouth his begins to chew and glances at the laptop, where the _W_ is still wide on the screen, “I already had realized this. Is there anything else you should inform me of, Watari?”

_“Well, it seems like we have a new problem, Ryuuzaki.”_

“Ah, and what would that be?”

_“Apparently three agents have already retired from the case. Surely this is much sooner than what we had presumed.”_

L lets out a long sigh and moves from his place to carefully move in the dark, squinting his eyes at the light the refrigerator emits. He ignores it, of course, and grabs the large box the rest of the cake from a few hours was left.

“Perhaps I had miscalculated their ability to work under pressure and risk.”

_“Many are considering retiring as well.”_

“Yes, Watari. Thank you for stating it.”

Watari chooses to disregard this as he says, _“I will continue contacting Mr. Yagami, if you wish to talk about further investigations and possibly estimating the amount of people who will continue.”_

“Yes, that would be wonderful.” L mutters, and he carefully stand on the couch before lowering himself into a crouch, his cardboard box balanced on his hand and his fork pointing upwards. As Watari closes the call, L is still staring at the screen with narrowed eyes, and though many would not guess this, at the turn of events he has already formulated a new plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically I didn't proofread. I might later on. if you find any error please let me know. I am so sorry this is extremely short. Enjoy!  
> -Alex

_Goodnight._ The soft voice of his mother’s rings through the young boy’s ears as he pulls his blanket over his head, echoing through his head in waves. It had only been five minutes since his mother had wished him a fine sleep and turned his lamp off, but he can’t help but feel fear. He’d run to the door, jump over nonexistent objects (to get the monsters from grabbing hold of his ankle) to throw it open and run to his parents’ room, but he has been doing that too often, causing his father to express his annoyance. Also, in his six year old eyes, he can’t help but notice the exasperation coming from his mother’s eyes.

This is why he forces his eyelids closed tightly and he sniffs back tears at the terror he feels slowly creeping up his body, causing him to shiver. When he hears a clear knock on his window he winces and shuts them even more. _It was just the tree’s branches._ It always is. Every single time before today that he’d go running to his parents’ room, crying while claiming to have a _monster_ on his windowsill. One of them would roll their eyes and walk in front of him to his room, pull the curtain open, and with a flinch of surprise, he’d notice the tree’s shadow.

_It was just the tree branch._

Now, though, he freezes and his eyes snap open as he hears the slow, drawling noise of his window being slid open. His figure under the thick covers trembles in fear, and then he lets escape a whimper from his lips as he feels the mantle slowly being pulled off him. When it’s off his upper part of his body and hears nothing he slowly shifts his head to face the direction of the movement, starts breathing even more heavily when he finds himself inches away from the face of a man grinning, and the smaller boy realizes his smile seems permanent, thin and long scar spreading from the tip of his lips to inches away from his eyes.

“Go.”

He starts sobbing, and he feels something sharp poke at his stomach, and through the glint of the moon shown behind the curtains which blow with the shifty wind, he manages to see sharp silver.

“To.”

The older man moves closer, and slowly draws his hand upward until the point is directly facing his neck, his grin seems to get impossibly wider and there are small specks of blood visibly through the outline of his enlarged lips. The boy’s trembles turn harder as he sobs.

“Sleep.”

_It was just the tree branch._

 

 

“Benjamin Raymond, age six; pierced on the neck, causing impediment for breathing. Cause of death _unknown,_ ” L emphasizes on the last word, seeming almost disgusted as he says this, “Found dead at 16 hours, a quarter to the next. Estimated that time of death was at nine the day before. Watari, do you have the names of the child’s relatives as I had asked for?”

_“Yes, of course, Ryuuzaki. Would you like for me to send them to you at this moment?”_

“Well,” L responds with a mutter and staring through lidded eyes at the screen, the microphone carefully positioned to be towards lips, “If it isn’t too much of a bother.”

The list of the child’s parents and family members appear on his screen, and as he scans it slowly, he moves his thumb to his mouth, doesn’t bite it but just press it to his lips. He takes a moment to analyze each piece of information and then takes his thumb from his mouth to lean over to the microphone.

“Has Mr. Yagami and his team discovered anything relatively new? Have they realized the murders of children without the signature of Kira?”

_“Until now they have not stated any suspicions. Although, they have received many calls from citizens, stating to know Kira or **be** Kira.”_

L hums, and then sighs as he leans away from the microphone, “And how many of these have been proven to be authentic?”

_“None.”_

There is a long pause, and from the other line Watari can hear the sound of a fork clinking against a ceramic plate, and he knows that L is thinking deeply about the case as he eats a vanilla cupcake, perhaps.

“What is it?”

 _“I’m sorry, Ryuuzaki,”_ Watari responds (his background is quiet, and L suspects him to be settling in the hotel room), _“But I don’t follow on what you are trying to say.”_

L sighs once more, fast and sharp, making it seem exasperated. He adroitly picks at the frosting with his fork and watches as the silver is covered with creamy sugar. Moving the fork to his mouth, he sucks on it and -with the object still stick to his teeth- he says between mutters, “Please, you know how I _hate_ games. It would be greatly appreciated if you told me what it is that is troubling you. I can tell you are restraining yourself from your tone of voice.”

Watari is not taken aback at how L managed to reason this, but he was still hoping that (after years working with L) he’d have learned the way L manages to infer when someone is lying through only voice and he would be able to conceal it from him. Apparently not, he thinks with a small smile of delight, no one will ever be able to exceed the world’s greatest detective.

_“Now that you mention it, I think it would be better if I notify you that the Japanese National Police Agency requires for you to show yourself.”_

“Requires or demands, Watari? In any case, I’m sure it has to do with the threat they are putting their children in, seeing as they believe me to be save without showing my face,” He glances down at his empty plate and moves to grab his cup of coffee instead, being sugar cubes with a few drops of coffee, really. As he slowly tilts the mug to his lips he quickly glances at the pictures taken of the child, his neck showing a large hole where blood had been overflowing and staining the blankets.

“How many of them remain?” He adds, his eyes still staring at the infant.

_“Including the Head of the Investigation, there are five of them. Three of them have children… Ryuuzaki, forgive me for asking, but do you honestly think it would be a good idea?”_

The tips of L’s lips turn up and he angles his body to grab a few more sugar cubes to settle them down into his mug, which is too full. The only possibility existing is that he must balance the cubes otherwise they will collapse.

“Certainly not.” He responds, “I would be putting my existence in danger I have never been in, and will most likely die. Haven already thought of this possibility before, I had expected this reaction from the NPA, though maybe a bit later than now.

“Theoretically, it is not a good idea, but it is the right thing to do.”

_“Should I start making reservations at the next hotel for the first meeting?”_

“Yes, though it’d be best if it were all moved later on, seeing as I wouldn’t want my current location to be known with a rather large show of moving my luggage and equipment.”

_“Ryuuzaki, you arrived yesterday to the airport and so you have been in Japan for only a few hours. Would it be a high probability that you were to be uncovered so easily even as **I** don’t even know where you currently are in the Kanto region?”_

L eyes harden on the screen and he pauses his eating before slowly moving his dessert to the table, setting it beside the laptop. At the same time as he moves his thumb to his mouth, he says, “Yes, Watari. There is a high probability.”

 

 

The next morning Chief Yagami is on the head table at the front of the Investigation room, looking through every call they have received and the evidence of the murders which he had also sent to Watari so he could demonstrate them to L. So far he hasn’t received any words directly from L, every since more than half of his investigation team retired from the case and their jobs to protect their children. L hasn’t said a single remark towards them from that laptop Watari always brings with him, but no longer uses near them.

As the Chief stares at his screen and starts to notice that after going over the same thing so many times, it has lost its meaning, he sighs. Every other man and woman have retreated from the job to protect their loved ones, is Soichiro doing the wrong thing by not thinking about the danger he is putting Light and Sayu in?

Yet, he cannot help but selfishly be grateful that he isn’t the only one in the team with children, seeing as also Aizawa and Ukita have smaller children to take care of. Seeing as they are short on people now they have much more labor to do and calls to obtain, and so far everyone has been as cooperative as they could be (besides Matsuda who keeps flipping his feet on the table and ranting).

Not much later after, he sees the tall stature of Watari walk in with cautious steps, his body covered by the trench coat as always while wearing the hat that keeps his face from view. He greets them as he always does, but this time, seeing as he arrives almost every day to check if there is any new information that they have uncovered, he has his laptop in his hands, already opened. They don’t mention a word as he faces it to them and they watch, suddenly quiet. They had not contacted L in quite a long period of time. Instead of the large L in the middle that normally appears, there is a text box and rapid wording appearing with every word that L types.

_Watari has informed me of your concerns over me and I agree to have us meet in person, seeing as I had arrived to Japan yesterday._

None of the members of the investigation can believe that L has agreed so easily to meet them and show his identify to someone for the first time in his entire career. Is this a trap? No, Chief Yagami thinks, I had already established that this is certainly L. All his theories and his actions have proven it to be true.

_Would next Tuesday evening be fine? It would be exactly a week away._

When the whole team just stares at the laptop in astonishment and the Chief snaps out of his trance, he straightens his back and nods, says, “Yes, of course. It’d be fine.”

_Perfect. Now, in a short period of time I will give Watari the coordinates of where I have traveled to, seeing as I have moved to different hotels every week in order to avoid further problems from those who left and had already known I was approaching to Japan._

_As further instructions I ask you to please arrive to my room in pairs, with a time gap of five minutes. Please arrange it so you are all at my door by six. Do I have your understanding?_

They all nod and Matsuda, from leaning to look closer to the screen from his place, falls and he lets out a noise of pain. Chief Yagami sighs, nods and promises that they will do as L says. He hesitates from a moment, and can’t help but hear his daughter’s voice running through his head. _“Once Light enters the agency they’ll surely be great!”_

Because he could register precisely what he is going to utter, his mouth opens and L’s typing pauses. He feels uneasiness seeing that L is already waiting to hear what Chief Yagami has to say once he saw the hesitance on his face.

“Yes, uh—” He clears his throat and tries his best to ignore the stares he is receiving from his teammates, “I know that this is far close to impossible but I just wanted to let you know that my son, who is in high school, has been thinking for a long time about joining the NPA once he finishes his studies and I must say that he would be of much help since he’d help me in older cases before and had been of great assistance—”

The typing begins once more and it cuts him off, expecting to see L remind him of the seriousness of the situation, that it is no time for having his son practice for the future. That it is _Kira_ they are trying to find and not any other kidnapper.

_Please bring him here Thursday after he ends his day at his school and make sure he does not bring his bag. If you are so certain that he will be of any aid then I am convinced that you are not mistaken and think beyond him just being your son. Do not let him know of our future plans._

Watari closes the laptop and they jump in their seats at the sudden movement. He nods to them and places the laptop into his bag before exiting and they are left with shocked expressions on their faces.

“Congrats, Chief! You almost have your son in the Investigation team! One point for us!”

“ _Matsuda_ , will you _please_ quiet down!”


End file.
